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瓜熟蒂落

Mandarin · pinyin guā shú dì luò

when the melon is ripe, it falls (idiom); problems sort themselves out in the fullness of time

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Characters in this entry

瓜: guā · melon, gourd, cucumber; Kangxi radical 97
熟: shú · well-cooked; ripe; familiar with
蒂: dì · peduncle or stem of plants
落: luò · fall, drop; net income, surplus

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–2–4–4 · gua1 shu2 di4 luo4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gwaa1 suk6 dai3 lok6

Cantonese word readings for 瓜熟蒂落. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) things naturally succeed once a suitable time has arrived and conditions are met

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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